Finishing What Her Country Started
by Mitsuo Nakamura
Summary: Book One of "Fuso War Stories". A young army officer who somehow reached the rank of Supreme Commander now must use her meager knowledge of modern military tactics to bring down huge enemy regimes while juggling issues in her personal life. Add in a rash of local kidnappings and possible occult activity to the mix and you have the madness that Kit has to deal with on a daily basis.
1. Ch1 - Kaimaku-Sen

**First off, Author's Notes**

Hello there. Mitsuo Nakamura here.

(Yes, that's my new pen name, I got tired of the old one and I've been thinking of this for a while.)

I attempted to post a fan fiction novel on FFnet a few years ago, and some people liked it, but I was often told the formatting was wrong. It also was one long chapter as I couldn't figure out how to split an already-uploaded story and it had taken forever to load. As you can tell I was kind of...a n00b. (Laughs) I had very little understanding of how to use this site back then too. Also, I have since written 2 and ½ (the 3rd is currently unfinished) more which I have yet to release on the internet. My pet projects are mostly original fiction, but since they contain some fanfic elements they will be released here as opposed to me making my own website for them. And yes, this will be split up into chapters this time. I hope I am doing this right. ^ ^;

I have decided to repost this in order to clear out all the troll comments, and in order to update the content a little bit. Keep in mind I originally wrote this novel in my first year of high school, and my writing has improved since then.

Oh, and I had better get this out of the way before somebody sues me…

**DISCLAIMERS**

This is AU, taking place in a world mostly designed by me. **There will be some OOC. You have been warned.**

**I do not claim to own any material, characters or other stuff copyrighted by other persons or companies.** My OCs and original concepts, however, do belong to me, but the OC's are probably going to be more prominent in my 2nd novel and onward.

A treatise on reviews. Please read this before posting. I appreciate constructive criticism if it's politely written. However, I **don't** want to hear "I didn't read most of it because…" or any sort of flaming/harassment such as "this is retarded" or "you're a ***".

If you do catch a genuine mistake, though, then by all means let me know. Just don't be rude. This is per my personal request.

I would like to make an ally on this site who can proofread my work, as this is **not** a verbatim rewrite of my 1st novel. I'm doing it as a reboot, where it will be basically the same but have enough changes here and there to make it a new work.

SPECIAL THANKS: This will be dedicated to anyone who has helped me with my project, including reviewers and editors, etc.

A/N: This is written in the form of war stories. However, it will still focus on my main characters a lot, rather than the traditional accounts from random soldiers. I will stress this again, please be kind and point out any errors.

Note: All story notes, including the translation of foreign words, will appear at the end of each chapter in order to provide insight into the world of Umikyuu.

_**Finishing what her country started**_

**Chapter 1-** Kaimaku-Sen (Raising the Curtain)

~The First Disappearances~

On a rainy night after school got out, a pair of siblings took a walk in New Matsushiro, the capital of the Fuso Empire.  
The sister, Megu, paused. "Big brother, I will go get the groceries, okay?"

Kyousuke, the brother, nodded. "Uh, OK, I'll just wait at the arcade then…" Entering the arcade, he fumbled with a 10-sen gold piece, and looked at the machines. "Well, these are new… Uh…airplane-based side-scrolling shooter…Spaceship-based side-scrolling shooter… What is it with all these? Don't people play anything else?" He paused, realizing he was talking to himself. The arcade was mostly empty for some reason. "How odd."

He moved over to a machine which had a large dance pad and watched this red-haired girl playing a rhythm game while simultaneously eating from a box of breadstick pastries. He found the lyrics to the song rather unusual. It was an overly upbeat techno piece, unusual for one which seemed to advocate aerial bombardment.

"… _And it's up to you to make that call to drop the bomb!_ _"_

"Ugh, this reminds me of what I read about the war. I wonder if-"

Suddenly he was jolted from his thoughts as the air was pierced by a shriek of panic. It sounded vaguely like his sister.  
"What the hell!?"

The redhead didn't seem to notice a thing, so Kyousuke simply ran outside, grabbing his phone in the process and disregarding the increasing rainfall.

He saw his sister running in the nearby park, frightened of something. As he dashed to help her, he saw her freeze in place. She was staring, fixated, at something Kyousuke could not see. As he caught up to her, there was nothing there but his sister. "What are you staring at? Are you okay?"

Megu didn't respond, simply pointed ahead.

Kyousuke looked, and there was this...cloud of black smoke hanging in front of a tree. It wasn't there before. "…?"

Time seemed to stop altogether as a shadowy figure stepped out of the smoke. "Why hello there." The cloaked man had a booming voice, and sounded rather threatening despite having said nothing else yet.  
Kyousuke had just had about enough. This guy probably was one of the rumored 'dark magic practitioners' the Imperial Army's home defence forces were trying to weed out. He dialed his phone for the emergency number, but it sparked and fizzed.

Cursing under his breath, he pulled out his pocketknife, which he carried only for emergencies. New Matsushiro was usually very safe, though, as it was patrolled by the army regularly. "Get out of here; I won't let you hurt my sister!"

The mystery man pointed a bony, discolored index finger at Kyousuke from out of his sleeve, and began to point slowly upward.

"What-" Kyousuke didn't at first realize he was beginning to levitate. He got the idea quickly, though, when the man flicked his finger, tossing Kyousuke aside and into a tree-trunk. "Uagh!"

Kyousuke was hurt bad, probably having fractured his ribs. Even worse, he'd lost his self-defense weapon. Rolling over, he saw that the cloaked man was slowly approaching Megu, who was still in a trance.

'Come on, come on, someone help us!' He prayed.

His salvation seemed to come momentarily. A small _Kurogane _truck screeched to a halt on the nearby sidewalk. The four Imperial Army soldiers riding in it had seen Kyousuke get thrown and immediately took action.

"Halt! Step back and put your hands up!" Three of them lined up and aimed their bolt-action rifles at the cloaked man. "Warning, we're authorized to shoot criminals on sight! Don't try anything!"  
The man, still obscured by his cloak, turned to them slowly…

…And raised the middle finger at them.

"Open Fire!" The NCO in charge of the patrol wouldn't have any of this, and immediately the three in front each dropped to one knee and fired their guns.

The bullets stopped in mid-air as they came close to this mystery assailant, and simply dropped to the ground.

"What the crap!? Our weapons don't kill him!? That was a direct hit!"  
"Arisaka-63s should have superior penetration power!"

"…Oh, that came out _wrong_, didn't it." In their confusion and bickering, the infantry grunts didn't see the energy beams before they were struck. Each one was disintegrated immediately.

The last soldier put a call in to HQ. "Attention, we have a _code 8-E-class_ in Chiharu Park! Requesting any available assistance!" The radio promptly disintegrated after that as another blast struck it.

The soldier, now genuinely panicked despite his training, climbed up on the back of the jeep. Whipping the mounted machine gun around to face his enemy, he sprayed a long burst of gunfire into the cloaked man, which (as Kyousuke expected) did nothing. Once the ammo box was empty, he scrambled down and attempted to draw his pistol.

Kyousuke watched in mute horror as the cloaked assailant walked towards the soldier.

Placing a palm on the soldier's helmet, the man sent that trooper into a trance. Stepping away, he went for Megu. Pulling a large dagger, he went as if to stab her.

"No!"  
The man turned. "**Don't worry; O foolish one, this is not a killing strike. It is merely a catalyst for things to come.**"

'What are you talking about? Oh sh-'

The man plunged the dagger into Megu's hand, but there was no blood. Instead there was a loud crack and a cloud of smoke obscured Kyousuke's sister. She disappeared along with the man.

He was starting to break down when he was startled by a small caliber gunshot. Turning, he saw that the NCO had shot himself in the forehead with a pistol.

"Stupid army goons… Damn it all."

Kyousuke grabbed a rifle from where one of the soldiers had disintegrated, and started searching the park for the dark figure that'd just done…something…with Megu. "If I recall correctly, they said on the news that those guys can't teleport very long distances. No one can do _that_ anymore." Combing the park, he found nothing, and exhausted he stumbled back to the road.

He was met with blinding light and aggressive shouts over a voice amplifier.

"Stop! Drop your weapon!"

Another voice, higher pitched, came from elsewhere. "_Ready to fire, Captain_!"

Kyousuke paused, disoriented from searching the park for so long in the rain.

"I said _DROP IT!_"

"Forget it, private - just shoot him!"

"_Open fire_!" There was a succession of booming noises as guns were fired. Kyousuke was struck by multiple shots and collapsed to the ground in pain. The blinding light was dimmed a bit. Some of the overzealous soldiers ran over to him. "Hey! This guy doesn't look anything like our target! What the hell, captain! You had us shoot the wrong guy!"

"_K'so_."

~Enter Kit~

Supreme Commander Altria Caitlin Pendragon sat in her drab office in the Fuso Imperial Army's main base in New Matsushiro.  
Kit was a petit blonde woman, rather short despite her position. She kept her hair tied back in a "French braid" all the time. She also looked way too young and foreign to be a commanding officer of Fuso's _Daihon'ei_. Her small size might cause an opponent to fatally underestimate her in a sword fight. However, she hadn't had a decent sword fight in too long. '_Plus,_' Kit lamented silently, '_Look at all this paper work…_'

She looked at the papers and sighed. 'I may as well get started,' she decided; turning on the desktop PC. Again, the AI of the base chimed in. "Good evening, Madam. How can I be of service?"

"I need to upload some documents," responded the blonde female commanding officer. Indeed, she had a lot to do. First there was the construction of the Flying Fortress and a new atmospheric battleship, and then there was the incident in Chiharu where men of the 90th infantryhad shot a civilian by mistake, and on and on…

"Ma'am, there is a _Kenpeitai_ officer at the door. Shall I let him in first?" asked the female AI.

The Supreme Commander nodded, and immediately the pneumatic locks hissed and the door slid open. Kit was always amazed at the level of technology this base had.

A nervous-looking man in a suit saluted and sunglasses entered the office. (It should be noted that it takes a lot to make a _Kenpe_i nervous.) "I'm from Sector 8, intelligence, Ma'am." He flashed his military ID, identifying him as Special Agent Ichiro Matsuzaka.

"So you're Supreme Commander Altria Caitlin Pendragon?" asked the man. The Supreme Commander turned a bit red immediately.

"Please. Call me Kit. I hate using my real name."

The intelligence officer nodded grimly. "I see. I am sorry you had to inherit this awful war, especially on such short notice. But getting down to business…I am submitting a report from my boss," stated the _Kenpei_. He handed Kit the file and explained, "Y-you may want to read the 3rd and 4th paragraphs…maybe the 7th and the 9th too… I know you're short on time, Ma'am, but I'm told this is urgent."

Kit read the sections: _'42 persons, including 11 of importance, have disappeared in various locations in Sankoku. 16 of the 42 persons were reported missing in the same 30 minute period last night between 7:10 and 7:40.'_ It went on to list the missing persons, their last known location, and the circumstances of their disappearances. Kit had to work to hide her recognition of some of the names. This was news to her; how exactly had the ones she knew just vanished?

Kit was lost in thought for a moment, but looked up to speak to the intelligence agent in front of her. "Special Agent Matsuhito, do we know the cause of these disappearances?"

"N-no, but we will look into this further," responded the man.

Kit nodded. "Inform me as soon as your department gets more on this. Thank you for delivering me this file. I shall also look into this myself. You are dismissed. …Ah, wait a moment."

The agent, who was going to the door, froze and turned around slowly. "Um, y-yes'm?"

Kit looked him in the eye. "Why do you act so afraid? You're from Sector 8…aren't you guys supposed to be fearless?"

The man loosened his tension for a moment. "Eh, sort of."  
"…Then what is it about me that makes everyone who comes in here look like they're about to be eaten?" Kit placed her palm over her face in exasperation.

"U-uh, it's n-nothing. N-nothing at all." He quickly turned around and punched the "door open" button, dashing out of the room and down the hall to the left.

Kit slumped down in her chair as the door closed automatically, and she sighed. '_…What do they think I am, a witch…?_'

Kit was working late that evening, to be sure. She had been exhausted, as her preliminary paperwork STILL hadn't been completed, despite her having the office of Supreme Commander for quite a bit. I suppose '_I just have to adjust to the work ethic,_' Kit thought, and sighed again.

Suddenly there was a bell from a console to her left. There were a number of what appeared to be metal funnels sticking up from it, with labels such as "RADAR detection centre" and "Airship docks".

'_They still use these things?_' she thought to herself. The voice pipes may have been an old concept, but they also helped keep radio silence in times of war just like these.

A tinny-sounding voice came from the one labeled with RADAR, and a small light flashed next to it. "Report for the Supreme Commander! A large contingent of Fluorsparian aircraft has been spotted! They've slipped in under our detection network and are heading to Higashi-Hirano air base!"

Cursing, Kit pressed a button on her console and shouted back. "Warn the commodore as soon as possible!"

"Ma'am, bad weather in that region means we can't get a message through quickly enough to forewarn his base! There are heavy blizzards out there and the satellite link is down! The Red Wings are going to have to fend for themselves!"  
Kit suddenly realized the man who she'd come to view as a mentor despite his subordinate rank was now at a high chance of being killed.

Kit clenched her teeth. "Grr…This is a dirty trick. I should have seen this attack coming."  
'_We can't lose Cecil. I can't lose him, either. I respect that man; he has MUCH more experience than I at leading a modern military and Cecil's kind of a mentor to me, however strange that may sound_.'

~An attack that hits home~

At Higashi-Hirano air force base, which housed the Imperial Air Force's 2nd fleet "the Red Wings", it was also still snowing. This was unusual despite the alpine-like region as it was actually summertime.

As usual, however, the security was tight despite the 3 days of inclement weather they'd seen in a row. The guards patrolled in heavy fur coats, RADAR panels spun in search of aircraft, and searchlights scanned the sky and surrounding area for enemies.

Cecil Harvey, the commodore of the 2nd fleet, was having tea in his office. He was blissfully unaware of the impending wave of bombers. This was basically a daily ritual; tea consumption was common practice in the region where he grew up. Rosa, his beloved wife, joined him.

"Odd having this snow in the summer isn't it, Honey?" asked Rosa. She sat down, and was fiddling with her bag, as if to find something.

"Yes, and I'd much prefer that the weather was not so dreary," Cecil commented, which prompted Rosa to laugh.

"Funny you should say that when it always just blizzards here the rest of the year anyway!"

Cecil put down the cup to avoid dropping it. Chuckling, he replied, "Yeah, I guess you're right. But I've never been a winter-weather kind of guy…" His manner of speech (similar to a British accent) usually stuck out, but Rosa and he were well known enough that they didn't get asked about it too much. When they finished their tea, a 4-foot-tall, rusty robot hovered in the door from the hall. It was shaped like a salt shaker with a head and arms in the middle, and had E-01 written on the nameplate. "Oh, hello," Rosa greeted.

"Query! Would either of you like more tea?" asked the strange machine.

"No, thanks."

"I'll pass."

The robot looked at Cecil and said, "Understood." Then this little robot zipped out the room as quickly as he came.

Cecil strolled over to the window. "It seems to have stopped snowing, at least for now. Thank goodness; I had kind of expected it to cause icy conditions, so I'll be glad to see it all end. Oh, by the way, Love, just wanted to let you know: the Red Wings will be getting a shipment of the first-manufactured units of a new-" Cecil stopped dead in mid-sentence. He thought he had heard something… He paused, and then there was a faint but distinct droning sound coming from outside. "Eh?" Cecil walked back to the window and looked out. There were numerous planes dotting the sky, high above the Red Wings Base.

"That's odd… Do we have any returning patrol planes now?" Rosa commented from beside him.

Suddenly a plane swooped by, just outside the window. Cecil and his wife nearly jumped out of their skin.

"Has he gone mad? That's against regulations, and way too dangerous!" Rosa yelped. However, the explosion that followed told them something was wrong. All the air raid sirens in the base began to wail and the red lights started flashing in the hall! There were the sounds of whistling bombs falling now.

"Rosa! Get away from the window!" Cecil pushed her clear of the blast zone and threw himself on top of Rosa to protect her. A bomb struck the base, and bits of glass and plaster rained down around them!

The automated blast shielding slammed shut outside the windows. A lone guard rushed in. "Sir! Everyone okay here? We're under attack! The Fluorsparian Air Force decided to raid us!"

Cecil helped Rosa up quickly and motioned for the guard. "Private! Go get Rosa to the security bunker! She can't be here during a full-scale battle!"

The soldier saluted. "R-roger that!" Cecil could hear the booming of the base's AA guns firing at the Imperial aircraft.

Rosa looked at Cecil as if she wanted to say something. Cecil nodded to Rosa. "I'll be fine." Then the guard escorted Rosa off to the bunker. Cecil rushed into the bedroom. "I need to be ready in 2 minutes…" He began to put on his body armor but there was another explosion nearby and he decided to do it on the run. Cecil grabbed his traditional sword and headed for the aircraft hangar.

The base shook with each bomb that struck. Cecil's adopted daughter, Hitomi, was waiting next to the gigantic Red Wings flagship. She was wearing her battle gear as well (a modified paratrooper jumpsuit with countless ammunition pouches), and was carrying her _Type 200_ Submachine gun. "Dad! Ready to ship out?"

Cecil nodded. "Let's go."

Tokugawa, the lead aviation technician, was waiting inside the bridge when Cecil and Hitomi boarded the FMS _Hayabusa._

Tokugawa looked at Cecil and pointed towards the engine room. "I finished the maintenance and repairs on the old bird. She's all yours, kid. Just try not to bust up the hull or engine this time."

Cecil tried to grin but was too upset at an attack on the home front. "All right." He would have normally been quite amused, but as I said, the Fuso mainland rarely came under direct attack.

Tokugawa turned to leave the _Hayabusa_ but paused. "Cecil… Why did you want me to stay in the base? I think you'd do much better with me on your damage-control team," he said, stroking his beard for a moment, and waiting for a response. For a moment he reminded Cecil of a caricature of General Nogi from the olden days.

Cecil turned his head part-way. "I think you know why. It's not safe just to lift off, and we might not even make it out of the hangar. I'd highly recommend that you go to your family and grandchildren in the bunkers."

An explosion shook the airship, and the graying mechanic nodded. "All right…" He disembarked as Cecil booted up the ship's bridge operation display.

Cecil turned on the com-link and spoke into it. "This is your Fleet Commodore speaking. We are under heavy attack and I need us up in 3 minutes. All crew members to their posts! All command officers, report to me in the bridge!" Within a minute, the crew assembled. The officers took their posts in the Hayabusa's bridge. Cecil turned on the _Hayabusa_'s main computer.

"All systems, boot fully!" A much younger officer appeared by the computer, and began running an engine-test procedure on it.

The following 3 or so minutes were the tensest that most of the Hayabusa's new and relatively 'green' replacement crew had ever experienced. The underground hangar they were in was shook incessantly by bombs of all types striking from outside. Pieces of concrete and steel were starting to dislodge from the roof and land on the deck.

"Engines ready, sir!"  
Cecil had his fingers crossed. "Alright, begin slow ascent."

The ship's rotors began to spin slowly, and then picked up speed. The ground-crew detached the docking bay stanchions. As the throttle was inched up, the engines began to create a vicious downdraft inside the massive underground hangar. Cecil said a quick prayer in his head and then ordered: "Sound the 'general quarters'! All crew should be ready as I have those doors opened! I want all the guns except the main to be primed with anti-aircraft shells so we can come out swinging!" He then signaled that the doors that made up the 'roof' of the hangar be opened. They began to slide open slowly. "All right! Engines ready for liftoff! …Go! Full Speed!" Cecil said.

He tapped Hitomi's shoulder lightly with a finger. "Oh! Right!" She turned to the command line running to the engine room: "Full lifting power!" The ship jerked upward abruptly as the engine crew complied quickly and efficiently. As the Hayabusa lifted off the concrete floor of the hangar, Cecil retracted the landing struts on the hull. The hangar door had slid open fully.

The Air Battleship _Hayabusa_ was ascending through the doors when a 500lg bomb slammed into the starboard side of the fore deck, exploding and throwing crew members (and turrets alike) all over the place. "Sir! We're already taking bombs! That's not good!"

The ship rocked from the blast, but recovered. Their starboard side began to edge towards the side of the huge hangar. Cecil shouted to the crew. "We're going to collide with the wall! Let's nudge to port!" The ship rose further and cleared the hangar; the air was split with smoke and the smell of gunpowder. The navigator trimmed the wheel to the left and shouted, "Hard-a-port!"

Dark-colored Flak clouds could be seen above, and one could almost miss the lightning flashes above. The gunshots, explosions, and the sound of aircraft engines were permeating the storm. The _Hayabusa_ was once again thrust into the chaotic melee of aerial combat. The enemy dive-bombers were numerous, buzzing around like swarms of heavily armed bees. Their fighter escorts were also giving pursuit to any and all Red Wings defenders.

**Next Chapter: **A decisive battle! "Der Adler Täg"

Kit: The writer likes to make shout-outs! See if you can catch all his references in this chapter! I'll give you a hint for one of them: The girl playing DDR while eating is a reference to a small scene in a recently popular 'genre deconstruction' anime.

Mitz: Yes, I do drop a few here and there. This time it was—

Kit: No! Don't tell them! It's more fun to make them figure it out themselves, to keep them on their toes. Also, so far in terms of fictional elements, we have Fate/Stay Night, Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy VI thrown in. Although, having read all 3 of his novels, I'm not positive I can keep track of all the stuff our author has in his universe!

Dossier:

"K'so" – Fuso'go curse word (It's based in reality so I don't recommend you say this in real life!)

"Type 200 Submachine Gun" An 8mm machine pistol meant to be fired with 2 hands. Holds a side mounted magazine with 32 rounds. This is a fictional gun of my design based on the WWII Type 100 SMG.

"Type 65 _Kurogane_ Jeep" – A small 4x4 vehicle used by the Fuso'an army. It's based on the Type 95 Scout Car of WWII. The nickname "Kurogane" means "Black Iron" and refers to the durability of the vehicle's suspension.

"SMS _Hayabusa_" – Flagship of the 2nd Fleet's (Red Wings') battle group, and command post of Commodore Cecil Harvey. Her main armament is 3 massive turrets, each with 3 artillery guns of 35" bore. This classifies her as an atmospheric battleship. Her old crew was mostly wiped out after an unsuccessful landing operation in the South Seas Islands, and the replacement crew has little to no actual combat experience.

Altria Caitlin "Kit" Pendragon – Supreme Commander of the Sankoku military. She's based loosely off of Saber from Fate/Stay Night, but I'm not known to mimic a series' continuity; rather, I try to use their concepts in new and creative ways. (Read as: this is only very loosely FSN, so don't expect me to go into complex Nasuverse terms. I don't think I am quite read-in on all of them yet myself. :/ ) She's a newly appointed officer, with little tactical experience. It's rumoured she doesn't even know how to use a gun.

Kyousuke and Megu Nihara – Civillians living in New Matsushiro. They are brother and sister. Megu disappeared mysteriously after an unexplained incident, and Kyousuke was mistakenly shot by the army during the aftermath. He was taken to the hospital and it's unclear whether he'll make it.

Cecil and Rosa Harvey – Characters taken from Final Fantasy IV. I managed to incorporate parts of that universe into the planet of Umikyuu, but not all unfortunately. Anyway, Cecil is the Commodore of the Imperial 2nd Air Force. Rosa (his wife) is a highly valued medic and the acting chief surgeon on his ship.

"_Daihon'ei_" – Imperial High Command. Refers to the administration of the Fuso'no military, or any officer above the rank of Colonel.

500lg – 500 Liptograms. A liptogram is a unit of measure used exclusively on the planet Kaikyuu, where the story takes place.

_Kenpeitai / Kenpei _(sometimes abbreviated as KPT)- The _Kenpeitai_ are the military police of Fuso. It comes from the phrase "sword bearing police unit". A _Kenpei _refers to one officer of this branch. It is proper for civillians and soldiers refer to a member of this branch as _Kenpei-dono_ – the equivalent of calling a superior officer "sir" in the regular army. They have many sectors, including but not limited to Sector 1 – on-base security forces, Sector 4 – Naval Shore Patrol (_Tokkeitai_ or TKT), Sector 7 – bodyguards, and Sector 8 – Intelligence. A plainclothed Sector 8 agent appeared in this chapter.

Red Wings - Name of the Imperial Fuso Air Force's 2nd Fleet. Because most of their ships are under repairs in faraway drive yards, the _Hayabusa_ is the only battleship stationed at their Higashi-Hirano base. There is also an atmospheric aircraft carrier stationed there, the _Rikaku_.

The Empire of Fuso – The protagonist nation. They're supposed to be vaguely Japanese, which is intentional because I wanted this series to have sort of an anime feel to it. Fuso is a constitutional monarchy. It is ruled by an Empress and a Parliament, and has a powerful military.

Principality of Fluorspar - They are the enemy of Fuso during this war. Fluorspar is a military dictatorship under Lord Palazzo.

Umikyuu – The "Blue Planet", Umikyuu is referred to by a different name by each nation. I settled on calling it Umikyuu because that's what the Fuso'jin call it. It is a much larger planet than Earth, with 2 moons. The moons are _Kurotsuki_ – The Black Moon, and _Akaitsuki_ - the Red Moon. Umikyuu orbits around _Hinodesan_ – the Rising and Setting Sun. Umikyuu is mostly ocean, with large continents scattered around its northern hemisphere.

Higashi-Hirano AFB – the base of operations for the Imperial Air Force's 2nd fleet "the Red Wings". It's located in a snowy valley, so it's not the best place for small aircraft operations, but large atmospheric battleships are stationed there and kept on alert to protect the Fuso'no mainland.

A/N: All right, there, I started to rewrite this. I'm so glad that this opportunity has presented itself and I can post it all again the right way! (My first attempt was an entire 30+ page novel in one online chapter page, XD.)

I hope to immerse the reader in the world of Umikyuu, including the protagonist nation of Fuso. Also, if I made any mistakes let me know (but please be gentle in speaking!). Read and Review please, it helps me improve. Next Chapter will be up in a bit, so be ready! Thanks! See you soon! ~Mitz~


	2. Ch2 - Der Adler Täg

Not much for me to say right now, other than… Enjoy~

Any questions; just email me or drop a review. I don't mind ;) … Just no flames or meanness. Thanks!

Disclaimer : SEE CHAPTER 1.

SPECIAL THANKS: My high school English professor, who read this bit, years ago, and inspired me to continue it.

**Chapter 2:** Der Adler Täg

"The Red Wings are going to love our new aircraft…" Takeshi Kato grinned to himself, imagining the jealous look on the faces of the Red Wings pilots when they see his squadron's new _Sanka_ fighters.

"Hey, we're going to arrive at Red Wings HQ in about 5 minutes," Stated the pilot, sporting a brown hair buzz cut with a small scar on his face.

"Thanks. Oh, and old man Tokugawa is going to be pleased that his prototype got accepted. He must have worked his tail off on that one," grinned one of his comrades, unaware of the battle occurring just on the other side of the mountain range. The Imperials' raid had, of course, been a surprise attack. Even though Fuso was at war with Fluorspar, the conflict was still mostly in the South Seas and the Borderlands. That the Fluorsparian Air Force could have travelled so far from their own territory and into Fuso was considered impossible!

Kato spoke into the mouthpiece. "Nishiyuki AFB! This is the 840th Naval Interceptor Squadron. We will be visiting you all in about 2 minutes 30 seconds. Please have a landing strip ready…" But as he paused, he realized that there was no response, just static. "I repeat, this is Lt. Kato of the Navy's 840th Intercept Squadron… Estimated time of arrival is 2 minutes…" Still no response. "That's odd… Hey guys, Nishiyuki base is not responding!"

The 840th Sq. accelerated and flew over the mountain range. Kato was shocked at what he saw next. The Red Wings base was heavily damaged and burning. Planes and airships whizzed around, exchanging fire; Flak shells burst almost randomly in the sky above the Snow Plains. "They're under siege! Blues Two, Three, Four, and Five, this is Blue One. Arm the missiles; it's time to take down some of these guys!" Leader Kato's squadron broke formation and attacked the Imperial dive-bombers. Blue Three zeroed in on a formation of them.

"_Tekitachi_ at 12 o' clock!" Blue Three then fired several missiles at the enemy craft.

The squadron leader addressed the Red Wings on their flagship. "Attention, crew of the FMS _Hayabusa_! This is the 840th Squadron of the Navy. Reinforcements have arrived!"

'Blue Squad' managed to shoot down several FAF dive bombers just as an enemy airship arrived.

Kato immediately reacted to the sound of a cannon firing as an artillery shell whizzed towards his plane, Blue One. He performed a barrel roll maneuver to evade the shell, and the cannon shell careened past him and into Blue Four! Four was banking when the shell struck and blew off a wing from his _Sanka_ plane. "Blue four, you're hit! Eject, eject!"

Blue Four could be seen as he punched the ejector. "No shit!" Blue Four's ejector pod rocketed out of the canard fighter, and parachutes popped out of the pod. "Ah, there we are…"

An FAF fighter plane swooped down near Four's ejector pod and fired a burst from its machine guns. "No! Watch out!" The bursts tore through the parachute and Blue Four's pilot plummeted towards the ground. "No!" Kato realized his friend was done for. He paused sadly for a moment, watching his childhood friend fall. Then the fighter that killed Four appeared on the RADAR behind Blue One. Flight Leader Kato climbed, and then raised the flaps and slowed down. The Fighter was travelling too fast and rushed past him! '_This guy's just a rookie', _thought Kato,_ 'too bad I have to smoke his ass for what he just did_.'

Then he dived and locked on to the bogey. "Gotcha!" It appeared on the targeting computer and thus he fired a couple of bursts from his aircraft's 30mm nose-guns. The tracers sliced into the enemy fighter, whose poor pilot had hardly even realized that his veteran opponent had outmaneuvered him!

"Son of a… You deserved that, Imperial slime!" Kato watched as the Fluorsparian fighter broke apart and fell towards the Snow Plains below. The pilot ejected from the Fighter. Kato thought about bringing the same attack home on the parachuting enemy pilot, but finally decided not to stoop to his level. After the FAF fighter pilot dropped out of sight, Takeshi radioed in to his fellow squadron pilots. "This is Blue One. All surviving pilots of the 840th get into defensive formation around my aircraft. We are going to land and refuel, one by one…" The squadron members entered formation around their leader.

(A/N: It should be noted the Sanka aircraft is an interceptor-type, and thus it's not a long-range airplane. Thus its fuel time isn't very long as it's meant to defend one point rather than push into enemy territory.)

Kato contacted Red Wings air traffic control (what was left of it). "Red Wings ATC, This is Blue One of the 840th squadron. Requesting touch-and-go landings for 4 aircraft."

"Affirmative, Blue One, your squadron is approved for touch-and-go landings. However, our landing stations are mostly bombed out, so please use the flying aircraft carrier SMS _Rikaku._ She's underway to the south of the battle theatre. Refueling stations are ready."

A bleeping claxon from the plane's computer indicated a more pressing danger than loss of fuel! The "enemy's missile lock" light flashed. "Evasive maneuvers!" The 840th Squadron's aircraft all banked sharply and began to dive. Six guided missiles from a FAF bomber screamed by and missed the formation. The rockets disappeared into the distance. "Whew!"

The Fluorsparian airship, flanked by a couple of smaller gunships, advanced on the _Rikaku_, trying to prevent her escape. As Kato watched, the _Hayabusa_ fired all her main guns in a devastating volley, tearing into the foes.

"These Imperials had better start sending better kites if they want to have a chance," remarked Kato, chuckling.

"You'd think they'd start sending better pilots, too?" answered another pilot who was escorting the squadron down to the _Rikaku_. Soon the 840th managed to land on the _Rikaku_ and began to refuel.

Kato looked at a picture of his girlfriend on the dashboard of the cockpit. She was an orange-haired young woman who was wearing a green headband and a dirty mechanic's uniform. "Narika … I'll be back soon. I promise," said Kato quietly. He looked up just in time to see an enemy Henschel break apart in a fiery midair explosion about 1000 feet away. Takeshi also noticed the wreckage of several Imperial fighters on the deck of the _Rikaku_, which attested to the ferocity of this air war. The fact that the enemy planes had crashed or rammed into the ship was enough to show the intensity of the battle.

He opened the canopy of his interceptor, and was immediately bombarded with the sound of aircraft motors and gunfire. The air smelled of exhaust fumes, smoke, and gunpowder.

"Sir! Did you see that? We got 'em! Their ship is downed!" A Red Wings technician rushed over, grinning with victory fever. "We're almost done with a diagnostic evaluation of your plane and- Oh shit!" Suddenly, a FAF dive bomber passed overhead, engines roaring, and fired its guns at the Red Wings personnel on the flight deck! The bullets pinged off of the landing strip and the side of the bridge. The technicians all ducked for cover and a nearby anti-air cannon turret fired a discharge of Flak shells at the enemy Typhoon.

The Typhoon did not make another pass, thankfully, as it was then distracted by a Red Wings fighter plane. They engaged in a dogfight and exchanged fire for a while. "Sir! Refueling is complete! I gave you a quick checkup, and your plane is A-OK."

"Alright, I'm going." FltLdr. Kato closed the canopy and gave the thumbs up to the technician, who saluted. As he gripped the control stick, Kato raised the throttle. The engine roared and Blue One took off. The rest of the 840th Squadron followed.

Some anti-air missiles provided covering fire for the 840th Squadron and the _Hayabusa_. The 840th got a radio message from the Red Wings Flagship. "Attention, 840th Squadron! The enemy ship is disabled! We're on the home stretch!"

Kato looked up from the RADAR. "Oh dear. Sorry, guys…we're not out of the woods yet! Look eastward!"

He could HEAR Cecil's dismay over the radio. This must have been really bad. "Ah, don't tell me there are MORE Imperials!?"

The _Hayabusa_ banked south and aimed its main battery in a broadside at the new reinforcements. There were about 500 more FAF fighters and 250 dive-bombers escorting a large brown air battleship marked with lightning bolts. It was called the '_Super Blitz_' and had the Imperial Fluorsparian banner painted on it. Kato was shocked. "That's the Imperial air-fleet's flagship!"

The _Hayabusa_ fired its main battery of 35" guns at the _Super Blitz_. Three of the shells directly struck the balloon of the fast-moving enemy warship, but somehow did not penetrate its angled armour! Another shot missed altogether, and the last two burst and struck some smaller Imperial aircraft, which were subsequently destroyed.

"Wow… That thing is going pretty fast for an old bucket, isn't it, Dad?" asked Hitomi.

"Well, it does seem slightly ridicul-" Cecil paused as he noticed a large number of transport planes in the rear of the Fluorsparian formations. "No! They've got paratroopers!"

Hitomi radioed the HQ. "HQ, enemy paratroop forces approaching! Try to hold out a little longer, okay?" As if in response, the last missile launchers on the base opened and the missiles fired, straight into a lot of the paratroop planes.

'_Someone_ down there knows what to do', thought Cecil, reassuring himself.

Then the loud sound of an approaching aircraft's engine broke the moment, and a bridge officer yelled, "Incoming! Sir! Watch out!"

A damaged Imperial airplane rammed into the _Hayabusa_'s bridge in a suicide attack! Everyone was thrown from their seats. Bits of glass and shrapnel struck the back of Cecil's armour. A large piece of a wing landed behind Cecil, part of it striking him on the back of his head. He was thrown forward from his command seat, and he struck his forehead on the controls.

"Dad? Are you OK? …Hey! _Eiseihei_! I need a Medic over here!"

"Uuuuuhhhnnn…" Cecil's vision was blurry.

A Medic could be heard approaching him. "Sir! Your forehead is bleeding!" The Medic opened his medical supplies box.

Cecil waved him away, not realizing how hard he had actually struck his head. "I'll be fine…"

At that moment, another cannon shell decided to strike the _Hayabusa_'s broadside, shocking Cecil into realizing the dangerous situation he was in. "Hitomi, status report."

"Damage is moderate; ammunition is fine, as usual; fuel is at 76%, and engines appear to be fine." An officer approached them. "Pardon the interruption. Actually, we just got an engine fire." Cecil called down the tube to the engine room. "Engineers, activate the fire suppression systems!"

The _Super Blitz_ was now directly over the Red Wings base. Hitomi could be heard in the background saying, "No! It can't be! They'll be crushed!"

The warship's bomb bay doors were open and it released its bomb-load! Hundreds of unguided bombs fell and leveled parts of the HQ. Then the ship closed its bomb doors, as if it had no more weaponry. "A cheap trick," thought Cecil aloud. "They're bound to have more ordnance in that crate somewhere…"

The Imperial paratroopers began jumping from the paratroop planes. Thousands of white parachutes dropped through an inferno of Flak, while the marauders' aircraft crashed in flames. The paratroopers were part of a Fluorsparian Blitzkrieg tactic: perfect coordination of land, aerial, and naval forces for a truly 'swift strike'. Cecil figured that the paratroopers would go for the bunkers first, knowing the way the Imperials tended to do things. That meant that if they reached the bunker, the Imperial infantry would attack and possibly kill his wife Rosa, as well as the guards and the wounded inside. Not to mention the numerous civilian workers who lived on this base. Plus, Red Wings HQ had already been damaged, as it was.

'_This ends here and now,'_ decided Cecil. "I need to draw their flagship away." He spoke with Hitomi briefly and they formulated a plan. "I think that the only way to do this, however unorthodox, may be to board it! The Fluorsparians made it with unbeatably thick armour plating, so perhaps we can destroy it from the inside?"

Hitomi looked skeptical. "Huh!? …You really think we can take that sucker from inside? How many guards do you think are in there?"

Cecil grinned (despite the stress). "That's the beauty of it: _Super Blitz_ is an old ship! We have the schematics for it in our database, and maybe we can find an easy way to beat that thing!"

He signaled a bridge officer, who brought over a tablet-styled computer. "Sir. It may be prudent to send a large strike team; I have no clue how this will work. Are we even _trained_ to board an enemy ship…?"

Cecil didn't answer the second part at all - he simply said, "I see, so we can get in to the anti-ground combat centre through there…maybe we can fight our way into the engine room…?"

Hitomi still sat blinking in the other seat, trying to understand her father's strange strategy. It was nothing that she'd read in the books. 'Then again', she figured, 'if it's his idea there's got to be something to it…' Hitomi respected her father. She knew he had many strategies which may have been abnormal, but no doubt, effective.

Cecil called to Hitomi. "Hitomi, I may have to do a crazy one here, but I think if we use a transport plane we might have a shot at getting in… Oh, and you are going to _stay right there_. You must. I won't have you getting killed."

Hitomi groaned. "Ohh, man, what am I going to be doing, then? You want me to just _sit here_!?"

Cecil smirked slightly. "Actually… you will be in command of the _Hayabusa_ rather than in a firefight aboard an enemy vessel. I think I have sufficient confidence in you to say that you'll do fine. I think these advisors in the bridge should prove invaluable if you're lost as to what action to take. Assume my post, Hitomi…"

"Yes!" Hitomi squealed. "I finally get to fly the ship!" Cecil spoke to the advisors, instructing them to keep the ship running as if he were there, to teach Hitomi, etc.

"I must go. May you fight bravely."

**Next Chapter:** Airship Assault!

Kit: Now we've added the Sky Crawlers to the list of references and shout-outs. See the notes below!

Dossier:

"Sanka Interceptor"- Based on the experimental "J7W Shinden" aircraft from WWII. It takes its name from an aircraft of the same name in the Sky Crawlers franchise. Googling a picture of these aircraft might be nice for visualization.

"AFB" – General military slang for Air Force Base.

"ATC"- Abbreviation for Air Traffic Control(ler)

FMS _Rikaku_- An airship with a flat-top deck for launching airplanes, similar to a naval aircraft carrier, except it flies (rather than sailing on the sea).

"Henschel"- A twin-engine medium bomber of the Imperial Fluorsparian Air Force. Can carry about 1600lg of bombs. Based on the Henschel Hs.129 ground attack bomber of WWII.

"lg"- Liptograms. I might have mentioned this before, but it's a universal unit of weight measure in the world of Kaikyuu. I came up with it to bridge the gap in military fiction between 'kg.' and 'lbs.' because of the confusion caused to military nerds such as myself whilst reading. Even if you know the conversion between them (I'm bad at math!) it's still interesting to use this fantastical unit of measure.

Takeshi Kato– Young ace pilot of the Fuso Navy's air arm. He's equal in some ways to the real life Saburo Sakai, reveled for his number of shootdowns (known as "kills" in battle). His name is inspired partly by the Japanese song "_Kato Hayabusa Fighter Wing_".

Narika – Kato's girlfriend, a civilian mechanic. I'm not sure if she'll appear in this novel directly, as she's not really that important in my mind as to where I'm going with the continuity.

FAFS_ Super Blitz_- All-purpose military zeppelin of the Imperial Fluorsparian Air Force. She's not as easy to shoot down as it sounds to be, though, due to the type of armour fitted to her hull.

SMS_ Hayabusa- _Cecil's flagship, a 172-ton air battleship, primarily armed with 8 thirty-five inch guns. She packs a punch despite her age, and is a veteran of many battles. Although, she's in need of an upgrade.

One more A/N: Things are getting heated up! Expect an intense boarding-party battle! But what else is to come!?

See you all later,  
~Mitsuo~


	3. Ch3 - Airship Assault, Part I

Hello all, it's Mitsuo. I've prepared this chapter in today's update as well.

I hope you enjoy this. Please don't forget to view the disclaimers in Ch1.

**Chapter 3: **Airship Assault

"Attention all flight deck crew, prepare gunboat #8 for takeoff!" Hitomi's voice came over the speakers as Cecil assembled a team of air marines in the _Hayabusa_'s largest rear hangar. A conveyor began to move, bringing in a much small airship. It had only 3 lift shafts and a small bridge. It looked akin to an old coastal gunboat. The forward and rear turrets were equipped with fast firing vulcan cannons (gatling guns), and there was a large troop compartment. The airmen and assault troops stood in formation, saluting Cecil. "At ease. …We've an incredible challenge to face down, boys, but I have faith in all of you. We're going to hit that airship, the _Super Blitz_, directly. It's very dangerous, but we'll have cover from some of our best strike pilots, and we'll approach from its weakly defended upper cabin. From there, we have a clear route to the engine room, and we'll set a charge there. Then I want you all to get out together, no one left behind, and I'll set off the bomb once every living man on this team is out."

"You'll all be given special armour and plenty of ammo for this, but do not take this lightly. I don't want any of you to be reckless, as we'll be inside the biggest Imperial airship. There are likely to be plenty of guards inside, and we'll have to coordinate our attack. I have provisioned a second and third wave of backup, which will be inserted to the tail and underbelly of the enemy ship once we can destroy the gun turrets. You're _team A_, 65 men strong, not including me and the other officers. _Team B_ will have 85, and _Team C_ will have 95. We'll communicate using special frequency radioes, which the Imperials won't notice, and meet up in the central engine unit. Then we'll plant the bomb, as I've said, and all 3 teams will merge. I'll lead us to the underbelly from there, and every remaining soldier will parachute to safety. …Alright, if any of you object to going on this mission, I will let you go back to your posts instead. I understand your feelings that it's like a suicide mission. If you don't want to go that's fine. Anyone?"

[On the gunboat…]

"Slingshot-catapult #4 ready. Brace for launch in 10 seconds." A young female voice came on the speaker of the gunboat's troop compartment.

Cecil turned to a machine gunner in disbelief. "Is that who I think it is…?" However, they were interrupted by a huge jolt as the gunboat was flung from the sheltered rear deck of _Hayabusa_.

"Whooooah!"

Immediately after they were airborne, a pair of Fluorsparian fighters broke formation and dove down upon Cecil's gunboat. One approached from the west, while the other approached from behind.

"_Teki_s at 6 and 9 o' clock! Gunners, take aim and fire at will." The aft turret tore up the attacker behind the gunboat and destroyed it. The front turret gunner fired at the plane coming in from the west. However, the gunner failed to hit the fighter as it was coming in too fast. The FAF fighter fired its front 20mm cannon. Large caliber bullets sliced down through the ceiling of the troop compartment, creating a mist of blood as part of _Team C_ was diced apart! Cecil leapt to action, shouting for the medics and having the other squads help treat the wounded.

Rushing to the bridge of the gunboat, Cecil stopped dead as he saw the scene in there. There were some wounded bridge officers, but what really freaked him out was the person at the helm. It was Tech Chief Tokugawa's granddaughter, Fiona. She was totally not qualified to fly a military gunboat, and her grandfather had forbidden her to pilot a combat aircraft in the first place. She barely had her civilian aviation license as it was, but she repeatedly insisted upon joining the war effort after her eldest brother was killed in the first battle of South Ryukyu.

"What the- Hey! You can't be up here! You'll get killed. Are you insane!?" Cecil ran over to the girl, who was wearing an airship captain's uniform, probably stolen. She simply flicked her brown hair over her shoulder and continued maneuvering the ship through enemy shelling.

"Incoming! _Teki_ is attempting to blindside us!" An enemy dive bomber was coming in from the sun! It made a pass and bullets from its guns perforated the main driveshaft of the gunboat with deadly accuracy. The engine caught fire!  
"Captain, the rear engine is burning, but we can still fly!" One of the officers shouted from the computer console. "You need to reduce power or that engine will explode!"

Fiona was sweating nervously, but reduced the throttle to 3/4 of the maximum speed. Meanwhile, the fire suppression system in the engine sprayed a mist of chemical foam on the fire. The flames shrunk, but did not go out completely. Oddly enough, as the gunboat approached the Super Blitz, the number of FAF aircraft zooming around seemed to lessen. Even that one dive bomber, the one that had nearly shot down Cecil's entire raiding party, had gone.

Fiona watched the Zeppelin that was the FAF Flagship getting closer and closer. She suddenly made a turn so that the ship was directly facing the _Super Blitz_. She could no longer see the entire Zeppelin, but could hear it, along with a Henschel's twin engines.

"Teki at 12 o' clock! 250 feet and closing!" The front turret of Gunboat #8 elevated to strafe the incoming Henschel, but failed to damage it enough. The Henschel came in high and retaliated. Bullets whizzed by the window. Everyone ducked. Ping-ping-ping! Three bullets penetrated the Bridge's thin armour, whizzed down from the ceiling, and struck the floor. They landed in the command centre, and one struck right next to Cecil! "Auh!" The two crafts' gun positions fired upon each other as the Henschel turned around for another attack. Before long, though, Cecil heard an explosion and the plane zipped by, tail aflame. It spiralled towards the ground and disappeared from view.

Cecil now knew why the zeppelin had not provided as much resistance as expected: the cannons on the_ Hayabusa _and the _Super Blitz_ were exchanging volleys. His daughter Hitomi had for the most part distracted the enemy. Suddenly a salvo of artillery shells whizzed by from the zeppelin. None hit them, however, and the gunboat passed over the Super Blitz. The _Hayabusa_'s guns fell silent and the gunboat pulled level with the massive dirigible's upper compartment. Cecil opened the door and held on to the railing as he waved his sword at an engine compartment of the zeppelin. His gunners, taking the signal, fired both turrets at it. Once it was disabled, they blasted off a door on a viewing box and docked the gunboat with the door.

He returned to Fiona. "The tech chief and I will have a very cross word with you when this is over. Go back to base and wait for us there."

She gave him a simple nod as Cecil climbed out to join his troops. Still about 100 strong, they pushed their way into the _Super Blitz. _Cecil turned to give Fiona the signal to pull off, but instead noticed an enemy bomber overhead. He frantically pointed to it, but she looked up too late. Missiles struck the gunboat and knocked it askew. It began to drift away from the _Super Blitz._ "It's all up to you now…go get 'em!" Fiona shouted. She gave a brief salute before banking the gunship away from the docking point. More missiles struck the ailing gunboat and it began to drop altitude. Finally, an artillery shell struck it and the little craft spiralled out of control.

"Fuck…" Cecil cursed and gritted his teeth. He'd just lost Tokugawa's granddaughter under his own command. He'd never be forgiven for this. But they had a job to do. "Onward! Into the ship!"

The Red Wings commandoes advanced towards the engine room of the _Super Blitz._ Soon enough, they were discovered by patrolling guards. The men Cecil had placed 'on point' opened fire with their special assault rifles – two shots to the center mass, one shot to the head, drop the target, repeat. They made short work of the Imperial guards. However, someone had heard the shots and soon Imperial soldiers came pouring through the other end of the passageway. There was little cover, so Cecil's men were forced to knock objects over to create barricades. Many were shot while just doing that. The horde of Fluorsparian soldiers sprayed out withering bursts gunfire from machine guns and assault rifles. Cecil threw a grenade to clear out a number of the enemy. As the Red Wings advanced, one of the officers flanking Cecil was wounded in the hip. It was Col. Okamoto, the officer who'd served Cecil in the _Hayabusa_ for the longest of any of the crew.

Cecil crouched over him and pressed on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. "Colonel! Damn, don't die on me!"  
"It's for our country! Don't worry about me, sir!" He lifted himself up and stood, holding an machine gun in each hand. He fired them wildly at the enemy, shouting a battle cry of "Long live Fuso! Long live the Empress!" as he was shot to pieces. He continued to stand and fire long after he should have been dead, still shouting and firing, shredding the bewildered and frightened enemy guards as they attempted to counterattack. In the end, the Imperial soldiers began to fall back, but Col. Okamoto finally fell dead. The men quickly saluted him, and one grabbed his dog tags before they moved on.

After fierce fighting, the Red Wings' marines reached the engine room. They had just begun to search the huge chamber when the entire place filled up with smoke! The Red Wings troops began coughing, and before long some soldiers fell to the floor and began to spasm.

"Commodore! It's a gas attack," shouted one of Cecil's men.

"Everyone put on your masks!" Cecil shouted, and the remaining soldiers fumbled to put on their gas masks. Many of them didn't make it, dying before they could put on their gas masks. Cecil got his on just in time, but only about 30 of his men remained. The gas dispersed, and as if on cue, gunfire echoed from the ends of the chamber and bullets crisscrossed the room.

"Take cover and return fire!" Cecil cried. His remaining force attempted to take up defensive positions, but there wasn't much cover.  
"Sir! We'll cover you so you can place the charges and get out of here alive!" yelled one of the marines.

Cecil nodded and dashed over to the main drive shaft, attaching some C4 to the partition next to the flywheel. "C4 set! Timer set! Time to withdraw!"

He turned and saw that his men were all dead or dying. One conscript, still alive, was being dragged away by two enemy officers in trench coats. The soldier, knowing he was going to die anyway, pulled a grenade from his belt. He shouted a salute to his country and empress, and then smashed the hand grenade against his helmet, activating the detonator. A second later the three of them were incinerated.

Cecil hid behind one of the strange machines in the room. He was the only one left who could fight, and he didn't stand a chance against all these enemy troops. He had only his officer's sword and a pistol, neither of which would do much good in this situation.

He watched as the enemies fanned out across the huge room, searching for him and shouting angrily in a vaguely Germanic tongue which he'd never heard before (assumedly Fluorsparian).

He waited for an opening, and picked up an empty bullet casing from the floor. He flung it across the pathway and it clanged against a catwalk before falling down to the floor. All the enemies paused to look, and Cecil made a run for it. He cocked and fired his Nanbu pistol at the closest of the enemies, until his ammo ran dry. Finally, he rounded a corner and found an escape hatch, which he promptly kicked open. Gulping nervously, he jumped through, freefalling out of the bottom of the ship and opening his parachute once he was far enough away from the _Super Blitz_ to avoid getting shot.

The _Super Blitz_'s "abandon ship" alarm sounded, and seconds later, the midsection of its massive balloon caught fire and exploded! Cecil looked at the crimson fireball engulfing the Zeppelin. He'd done it, but at what cost? He'd lost so many men in that deathtrap. Trying to keep his mind off them, he looked worriedly at the Red Wings Base below. The Hayabusa had crash-landed on the eastern side of the airfield, but the bridge seemed mostly intact. This was somewhat reassuring. The Red Wings soldiers were cheering as the flaming _Super Blitz_ attempted to begin a long limp back to Fluorspar.

The base's AA gunners could not tell Cecil apart from the Fluorsparian paratroopers, so naturally they fired on him as he descended to the ground. As he dropped past 5,000 feet, Cecil was almost wounded by an AA shell explosion, but the shrapnel lodged in his body armour. The impact knocked him out before he reached the ground.

**Next Chapter:** Verum Signum

Dossier: 

Slingshot-catapault: A device designed to launch aircraft from ships. Originating with the Navy, it has been adapted for atmospheric fleets as well, being used on aerial battleships such as the _Hayabusa_.

Vulcan/Gatling gun / _Kaitenjyuu/Kaiten-ho_ – A type of machine gun. It is also known as a "rotary cannon". Fuso has four, five, and six barreled variants. The ones used on Gunboat #8 were 4 Type II _Kaiten-ho, _chambered in 30mm "Yahagi".

Fiona Tokugawa – The Granddaughter of Tech Chief Cid Tokugawa. She recently earned her civilian pilot's license, but aspires to be a fighter pilot or airship captain. She insists on joining the war effort because of the death of her eldest brother in the fierce fighting over the southern islands.


End file.
